The present invention relates to containers of the type used to store flammable liquids, and, in particular, to a container of the type known as a "Jerry Can".
Containers for flammable liquids have to meet prescribed governmental saftey specifications and, in the case of Jerry Cans for use by the armed forces, military specifications must be met as well. These military specifications, for the most part, are based upon the original metal containers of this type (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,387,270) developed during World War II. Among these specifications is the fact that they must be able to stack neatly and stably one upon another, as well as fit together side-by-side and front-to-back. Additionally, due to the fact that a conventional 5-gallon Jerry Can, filled with gasoline, is extremely heavy, military specifications require a triple-handle having three parallel handle bars, a central one of the bars being utilized by a single individual to carry the container thereby, and the two outer handles being utilized so as to enable three containers to be carried by two individuals, with one of the containers being held by a respective one of its outer handles by each of the two individuals. This triple-handle requirement, while unnecessary with the advent of lighter, blow molded plastic containers, applies irrespective of the material that the container is formed of.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,200 discloses a blow molded plastic Jerry Can that has been developed to meet military specifications for Jerry Cans. In order to meet the triple-handle military requirements (in view of the difficulties in blow molding a container with a satisfactory, unitary triple-handle), in accordance with the disclosure of this patent, the plastic container is blow molded with a single, unitarily formed, bar-type handle extending centrally along the top of the container, with ridges being formed projecting upwardly from opposite ends of the handle, and with a fin projecting from the top surface of the container, parallel and spaced below the handle. An injection molded, plastic supplemental handle is then placed on top of the container so as to flank both sides of the central handle and is permanently attached to the container by rivets, which interconnect the supplemental handle to each of the upwardly projecting ridges of the central handle and to several locations along the upwardly projecting fin of the container top wall.
For purposes of enabling stacking of the above-noted plastic Jerry Can upon a like Jerry Can, the can of U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,200 is provided with a recessed bottom wall that is contoured to receive the handle with its upwardly projecting ridges, and a middle pair of six feet that are provided on a non-recessed portion of the bottom wall are provided with a cleated formation for engaging in complementarily shaped recesses in each of the handle bars of the supplemental handle.
While such a plastic Jerry Can possesses advantages over the old sheet metal Jerry Cans, since such a can requires the use of complexly shaped molds and additional operations for riveting of the supplemental handle to the container, such a container is significantly more expensive to produce than a conventional blow molded container. Furthermore, since the container is specifically designed so that the supplemental handle is a permanently attached part thereof, and since its stacking capacity is dependent upon the presence of the supplemental handle, the container of U.S Pat. No. 3,746,200 is not usable without the supplemental handle, so that the same container cannot be sold as a less costly single handle stackable container version to the general public, as well as the military as a triple-handle Jerry Can. In this regard, it is noted that, while the triple-handle is required for compliance with military specifications, such is not a desirable characteristic for use on a commercial container, since the outer handles (which are seldom utilized on such a plastic container) not only increase the cost, and, thus, the selling price, of such a container, but also make use of the central handle less convenient.
It is, thus, an object of the present invention to provide a single handle stackable container that can be produced at low cost and without the use of complex molds or assembly operations.
It is a further object of the present invention to produce a container in accordance with the preceding object that can be selectively utilized with or without a supplemental handle that is able to convert the single handle into a triple-handle complying with military specifications for Jerry Cans.
With regard to the former object, it is noted that stackable, single handle containers are known, such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,052, but such stackable containers normally require a recessing of the bottom wall of the container in order to accommodate the top handle of the container, thereby requiring an increase in the overall sizes of the container in order for it to accommodate a given capacity, and also requiring more complex blow molds and molding operations, both of which contribute to an increase in the cost of the container.
With regard to the second of the above-noted objects, it is noted that detachable handles for fuel containers have been known from patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,288,359, but such detachable, supplemental handles are not suitable for use in converting a single handle into a triple-handle, which would comply with U.S. military specifications for Jerry-type cans, and, in fact, do not modify the integral handle of the container, at all. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,229 discloses a handle which is convertible from a single bar handle to a dual-bar handle, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,364,105 discloses a snap-on handle grip for a single handle of a container, but neither of these arrangements are suitable for achieving either of the above-noted objects.
On the other hand, the present invention is able to fully achieve the above-noted objects through the provision of a stackable plastic container having a container body of generally rectangularly configuration having an elongated top wall, a substantially planar, elongated bottom wall, a pair of major side walls, and a pair of minor side walls. The top wall is provided with a threaded neck-like opening in the vicinity of one of the pairs of minor side walls and a pair of upwardly projecting top wall portions that are asymmetrically disposed relative to a center line extending across the container between the major side walls. A first of these top wall portions substantially spans the distance between the pair of major side walls in the vicinity of the other of the minor side walls, and the second of the top wall portions substantially spans the distance between the pair of major side walls at a position adjacent the neck-like opening. A single bar-type handle extends, as a unitary part of the container situated centrally between the pair of major side walls, from the first of the top wall portions to the second of the top wall portions, so that a hand opening is formed underneath the unitary handle, between the projecting top wall portion. The bottom wall is provided with a plurality of downwardly projecting stacking nubs that are situated at positions corresponding to the projecting top wall portions and the projecting top wall portions have nub receiving stacking recesses positioned on opposite sides of the handle for enabling stacking of a like container on the container by engagement of the supporting and stacking nubs of the like container in the stacking recesses of the container.
Such a configuration produces a container that is easy to manufacture by conventional blow molding techniques, is easily grasped, and is stably stackable without the container having to be configured with capaacity reducing recessed bottom wall portions for accommodation of the handle.
Furthermore, in order to enable this same container to be brought into compliance with military specifications for Jerry-type cans, the present invention also comprises a rigid supplemental handle that is sized and shaped for insertion into the hand opening of the container and for detachable engagement with the unitary handle bar of the container top wall. In particular, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, the supplemental handle has a pair of bar-type handle portions which, when the supplemental handle is engaged with the unitary handle of the container top wall, are disposed parallel thereto on opposite sides thereof, thereby converting the single handle container into a triple-handle container of the type required for military Jerry Cans. Preferably, the handle portions of the supplemental handle are interconnected at its opposite ends by crosspieces which have a centrally positioned notch therein for engagingly receiving the unitary handle of the container top wall, the notches of the crosspieces having nub-like detents at upper edges thereof for detachably securing the supplemental handle to the handle of the container top wall.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.